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Education for Development]}}

Topic paragraph

This article will cover the topic of language policy in education in Malawi which motivates me as I have volunteered in the country previously. Specifically, it will entail the concepts surrounding how western ideas play a role in the school curriculum and the idea that indigenous education is a positive thing. I want to explore how other languages have importance in education even though English is the official language of Malawi. I will consider the importance of the school curriculum being taught in one's first language which has a positive effect on a child’s learning. For example, in the country, there are known to be 6 indigenous languages in the country that should play a role. Considering this, learning in the mother tongue can enhance one's understanding as there is no language barrier. There are also critiques that will be discussed in relation to why using the mother tongue may not be as useful as suggested. In this article, I will also investigate how education has changed and progressed since Malawi gained independence (pre-colonisation and post colonisation). Another aspect of the article will be how religion is evident in education. For instance, majority of the population in Malawi is Christian. Finally, stakeholders such as; parents, students, teachers, communities and the government will be taken into account to ensure that a wide range of viewpoints is included.

Annotated Bibliography

1. What is the main claim?
2. What evidence does the author provided to substantiate this claim?
3. What key concepts does the author employ?
4. What are the key weaknesses, limitations or gaps?
5. What did you learn from reading this source?

Kamwendo, G.H. (2016). The new language of instruction policy in Malawi: A house standing on a shaky foundation. International Review of Education, 62(2), pp.221–228

Kamwendo makes the claim that English shouldn’t be used as the main teaching language in Malawi but should be incorporated. He expands on this point through the idea that many households do not use or understand English which makes it difficult to communicate. This also means children in schools may find it hard to learn in a different language that they aren’t used to. Kamwendo mentions using a new language policy through using Chichewa to strengthen the conditions of how English is taught. There are problems which may be discussed for example the successes that come with knowing and understanding English are useful for the future. In further detail, this refers to the idea of socio-economic status being higher when one is advanced in English. Reading this made me understand language comes with many interconnected issues such as training and infrastructure playing role.

Chiuye, G. and Moyo, T. (2008). Mother-tongue education in primary schools in Malawi: From policy to implementation. South African Journal of African Languages, 28(2), pp.133–144.

The main claim Moyo makes relates to the idea that implementing language policies are tougher than imagined. There are many factors involved that must be considered, for example the absence of learning resources, lack of trained and qualifies teachers, overcrowded classrooms, and standardising languages.  The authors place emphasis on concepts that can be introduced to ensure language polices run smoothly. For instance, the role of governments is key and language specialists are needed. Along with these examples, languages should be equally implemented to be effective. I learnt that mother tongue language should be included in education.

Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power, and pedagogy : bilingual children in the crossfire. Clevedon England ; Buffalo N.Y.: Multilingual Matters.

Cummins suggests that bilingual programs may have some use, from evidence produced in California. This includes teachers recognising language and cultural backgrounds from students and evidence suggest this creates academic success and reassurance for students identities. Cummins connotes that using using a sociological and socio-political perspective helps to address questions regarding bilingual students and how they perform academically. Cummins also talks about the concept of additive bilingualism is seen in a positive light as it is said to be associated with student growth suggesting it has value. However, there are some critiques regarding the way bilingual students may be handled. For example, assessments may not target them effectively which leads to underperforming in studies. This is also a problem that needs to be tackled universally to be effective on a global scale. Reading this helped me understand the concept of additive bilingualism.

Carter, E., Sabates, R., Rose, P. and Akyeampong, K. (2020). Sustaining literacy from mother tongue instruction in complementary education into official language of instruction in government schools in Ghana. International Journal of Educational Development, 76, p.102195.

Carter makes the point that children do not perform as well in literacy if language of instruction differs from mother tongue language. He uses evidence from Ghana which looks at the CBE programme that involves using mother tongue language in the entire course of the programme and how this was effective. If the instruction language is changed for children this will create barriers and make it harder to adapt to the language. In addition, where it is often English this can cause more difficulties as there is linguistic distance with the mother tongue language. The author suggests that teachers need training (skills and awareness) to ensure CBE graduates have more support for when transitioning into English instruction environments. This is particularly important for children in higher grades, where English has been implemented later as there is more risk to their progress. One limitation of these concepts is that any evidence used can not be directly applied to another context as countries work in different ways, suggesting it is context specific research. I learnt the importance of the instruction language on a child's academic progression.

Alexander, N. and South, I. (2003). The African Renaissance and the use of African languages in tertiary education. Cape Town: Praesa.

Alexander investigates the importance of African languages in the education system. There are 5 sources which have relevance to language as follows; ecology of languages, economy, democracy, learning theory and identity. There is an integral relationship between identity and language in terms of how being who you are and where you are from is important. Although this is the case, Alexander makes the point about english always being present as it is a global language. One negative in relation to this idea is that English has a hegemonic status which means it is dominant and in this way can lead to the erosion of languages and culture. From this reading, I learnt that the government and private sector must play a role in recognising the importance of African languages.

Chilora., Henri (2000) Language Policy, Research and Practice in Malawi, United States Agency for International Development. CIES, San Antonio, Texas, USA pp1-13.

The main claim Chilora makes is on the idea that using local languages in education in Malawi should be discussed and may have value. The Colonial government have looked into this concept which suggests that there is importance here, for example the introduction of free primary education in 1994 and a new language policy. However evidence found negative results on the quality of education in one study. For instance, 64% of pupils assessed speak Chiyao compared to 67% of teachers who don’t speak this language. There are also 61% of teachers who are unqualified. These findings suggest that although this new language policy may have been useful, trained teachers and matching the language of what children and teachers both speak would create quality education. I learnt that language policy impact should be discussed further.

Draft essay

Overview

This essay will cover the topic of language policy in education in Malawi. Specifically, it will entail the concepts surrounding how western ideas play a role in the school curriculum and the idea that indigenous education is a positive thing. The essay will explore how other languages besides English have importance in education even though English is the official language of Malawi. I will consider the significance of the school curriculum being taught in one's first language which has a positive effect on a child’s learning. For example, in the country, there are known to be 6 indigenous languages that should play a role. Considering this, learning in the mother tongue can enhance one's understanding as there is no language barrier. There are also critiques that will be discussed in relation to why using the mother tongue may not be as useful as suggested. In this essay, I will also investigate how education has changed and progressed since Malawi gained independence (looking at the colonial period and post-colonial period). Another aspect will incorporate how religion is evident in education. For instance, the majority of the population in Malawi is Christian. Finally, stakeholders such as parents, students, teachers, communities, and the government will be considered to ensure that a wide range of viewpoints is included. These factors will be brought together to create an appropriate language policy in Malawi.

Colonial-era

In terms of language, it is important to investigate the history of a country to determine its colonial roots. Specifically, the colonial era can be used to uncover the way language policy changed in Malawi. For example, the country was colonised in 1891, and later in 1918, a debate arose on whether the language Chinyanja/Chichewa should be included in schools as the official language. At this time English remained the official language and so the prospect of other minority languages coming into play would be an obscure fact. Also, at this time the main interests were for the interests of the colonisers, and so the implementation of this would be considered undesirable. (Kamwendo, 2005). During this period, it is likely that linguicide occurred due to languages not being used.

It is evident that the western world played a huge role in determining what education is like in colonised countries. The assumption around this idea is that Europeans introduced higher education. Although there is an interesting point that can be made that suggests higher education arose in African countries. (Foulds and Zeleza, 2014). For example, the first university was created by an Arab woman. This is important for Malawi’s context as it allows scope for non-western views to be included and suggests there is relevance around indigenous ideals, such as using mother tongue languages and bottom-up approaches in education.

Although using English as the main teaching language can be widely debated, there is a point to be made regarding future outcomes for those who learn in English. For example, there are positives such as many universities teaching courses in this language which creates advances for one’s career. Today, English remains the official language of Malawi and is preferred in many aspects of development. For example, for international trade and communication. (Moyo, 2011). Looking on a wider scale, there is value here due to English being one of the top languages spoken worldwide.

New language policy

On the contrary, English can be considered as having negative connotations. For example, later evidence by Kamwendo (2016) found that the language shouldn’t be used as the teaching language due to reasons such as households not communicating in English and therefore it being hard to understand. This can be related to when a new language policy emerged in 1994 This policy revolved around Chichewa being implemented for grades 1-4 instead of English. Two years later Malawi gained independence in 1996, ‘This, as was intended, caused student enrolment to rise from 1.9 million to 3.2 million’ (Chilora, 2000, p.4) which showed the government adapting. This policy did have benefits such as free education but also some negatives. For example, several teachers weren’t trained which led to a lack of quality education. A good language policy must include trained teachers and enough of them to accommodate the number of students.

Language and Identity

Language and identity can be described as intrinsically linked because language is associated with who and where one comes from. The concept can also hold a ‘national unity’ (Chilora, 2000) which is useful as it can bring society together. Alexander (2003) mentions the importance of using African languages in education. This can be applied to the context of Malawi to suggest that using Chichewa has value in education.

On the other hand, the author also mentions that because English remains at present a hegemonic language in society (ibid) it is dominant, and therefore can lead to the erosion of minority languages. This is known as linguicide. (Example will be included here)

In further detail, mother tongue education should play a role in schools in Malawi. For example, evidence from Ghana (Carter, 2020) suggests that in a CBE programme those who learnt in a different language to their first language struggled in terms of literacy. In relation to Malawi, this is a common theme as many children will speak different languages to English/Chichewa, for example as previously mentioned there 6 indigenous languages. The problem here revolves around linguistic distance, a term used to describe when languages are very different, acting as a barrier for children to progress academically.

However, this evidence may be limited as different countries work in different ways and so can be considered context-specific.

Bibliography      

Alexander, N. and South, I. (2003). The African Renaissance and the use of African languages in tertiary education. Cape Town: Praesa.

Carter, E., Sabates, R., Rose, P. and Akyeampong, K. (2020). Sustaining literacy from mother tongue instruction in complementary education into official language of instruction in government schools in Ghana. International Journal of Educational Development, 76, p.102195.

Chilora., Henri (2000) Language Policy, Research and Practice in Malawi, United States Agency for International Development. CIES, San Antonio, Texas, USA pp1-13.

Foulds, K. and Zeleza, P.T. (2014). The African Academic Diaspora and African Higher Education. International Higher Education, (76), p.16.

Kamwendo, G.H. (2005). Language Planning from Below: An Example from Northern Malawi. Language Policy, 4(2), pp.143–165.

Kamwendo, G.H. (2016). The new language of instruction policy in Malawi: A house standing on a shaky foundation. International Review of Education, 62(2), pp.221–228

Moyo, T. (2011). The changing language policies and reversing language roles in Malawi: From colonial times (1891-1964) to the present. Per Linguam, 17(2).